Using Dutch roads explained clearly

Terms to know first

The right terms help you recognise what an exam question is asking.

Rijbaan, carriageway: The part of the road used by moving vehicles. It may contain several lanes.
Rijstrook, lane: A marked part of the carriageway wide enough for motor vehicles.
Bebouwde kom, built-up area: The area between signs H1 and H2. Different general speed limits apply inside and outside it.

1. Keep as far right as possible

Drivers use the carriageway and keep right. Always check which part is intended for your vehicle.

Cyclists and moped riders use a compulsory cycle path. If none exists, they normally use the carriageway.
An emergency lane or refuge is for emergencies unless signs open it to traffic.
You may leave the right position to overtake safely, prepare for a turn or pass an obstruction.

The main rule is keep right. Another position needs a clear reason or direction.

RVV articles 3, 4, 5 and 43

The car keeps right on the carriageway. The red cycle path and green verge are not part of the car lane.

View the diagram full size

2. The limit is not always a safe speed

A sign gives the maximum. You must slow down when visibility, weather, traffic or the road surface requires it.

Without a different sign, a car normally has a 50 km/h limit inside and 80 km/h outside built-up areas.
On a motorway, signs set the limit. It is usually 100 km/h during the day, while signed sections may allow 130.
You must be able to stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

Maximum means permitted, not required. Choose a speed that lets you stop safely.

RVV articles 19 to 22a

3. Lanes, positioning and overtaking

Look early, check mirrors and blind spot, and signal before changing position.

Overtake on the left in normal situations and return right when it is safe.
Do not cross a solid centre line on your side. Temporary yellow lines take precedence over white lines.
Use lane arrows and dedicated lanes only in the direction shown.

Mirror, signal, blind spot, manoeuvre. Keep that order.

RVV articles 11, 17, 54 and 78

Top-down view of a blue car safely moving from the right lane to the left lane, with a separate blind-spot area marked behind it on the left — The triangles show the travel direction. Check mirrors and the left rear blind spot, signal and move only when the left lane is clear.

4. Waiting, stopping and parking differ

Why the vehicle is not moving determines which rule applies.

Waiting for a red light or priority is required by traffic and is not parking.
Stopping briefly for immediate boarding, leaving, loading or unloading is stopping.
Parking is other voluntary stopping. Never block visibility, access or safety.

Ask why the car is stationary. That tells you whether it is waiting, stopping or parking.

RVV articles 23 and 24

5. Recognise every part of the road

A theory question often uses one precise word. First identify where someone drives or stands.

The road includes the carriageway, cycle paths, pavements, verges and other parts open to traffic.
A carriageway is for moving vehicles. A lane is a marked part of that carriageway.
A cycle lane has a bicycle symbol. A coloured strip without that symbol is not an official cycle lane.

Name the part of the road first. Then choose the rule.

Dutch road with carriageway, green strip, red cycle path, pavement, car and cyclist — From left to right, recognise the carriageway, green strip, separated red cycle path and pavement.

6. Distance, passing an obstacle and overtaking

Keep enough distance to react. Passing means driving by a stationary object. Overtaking means driving past a road user moving in the same direction.

Keep about a two-second gap in good conditions and increase it in rain, ice or poor visibility.
Overtaking means passing traffic moving in the same direction. Passing means going by a stationary object or obstruction.
Overtake only with enough view, clear space and speed, and without hindering anyone.
You may overtake on the right when a driver has positioned and signalled to turn left, from the right side of block markings, when passing a tram and in queued traffic. Cyclists may overtake other drivers on the right.
Never overtake a vehicle immediately before or on a zebra crossing.

More speed or less grip means more distance and less room to overtake.

RVV articles 11 to 13

Two separate top-down views: passing a stationary grey vehicle and overtaking a moving orange vehicle — On the left, the blue car passes a stationary object: voorbijgaan. On the right, it passes a road user moving in the same direction: inhalen.

7. Where stopping and parking are prohibited

Do not look only for a sign. Ordinary rules already prohibit some places.

Stopping is prohibited on a junction or level crossing, on a cycle lane or the carriageway beside it, in a tunnel and on a pedestrian crossing or within five metres of it.
At a bus stop, do not stop along the block marking or, without one, within twelve metres of the sign. Immediate boarding or alighting is allowed.
Stopping is also prohibited on the carriageway beside a bus lane and along a solid yellow line.
Parking is prohibited within five metres of a junction, in front of an entrance or exit and outside a built-up area on the carriageway of a priority road.
Do not park along a broken yellow line, in a loading bay, without the required permit, double beside a vehicle or contrary to a sign, supplementary plate or parking bay.

Stopping rules are stricter than parking rules. Where stopping is prohibited, parking is prohibited too.

RVV articles 23 and 24

Car fully inside a parking bay with its pavement-side passenger door open — **Allowed: immediate boarding or alighting**This is Stilstaan when the passenger boards or leaves immediately and no other rule prohibits stopping.

Car parked straight and fully within an ordinary marked parking bay — **Allowed: correctly inside the bay**Parking is allowed because the car is fully inside an ordinary bay and no sign, supplementary plate or reserved purpose prohibits it.

Car standing beside a continuous yellow line at the edge of a Dutch carriageway — **Stopping prohibited**You may not stop along a continuous yellow line. Parking is therefore prohibited there too.

Car parked across a clearly recognisable Dutch exit — **No parking in front of an entrance or exit**Do not park in front of an entrance or exit. Immediate boarding or alighting is stopping, provided no other rule prohibits it.

Comparison of official signs E1 and E2 showing what is allowed for Stilstaan and Parkeren — **E1 and E2 are different**At E1, Stilstaan is allowed but Parkeren is prohibited. At E2, both Stilstaan and Parkeren are prohibited.

8. Recognise the main road types in pictures

A photograph helps you recognise the road structure. The traffic sign and any valid speed indication remain decisive.

First distinguish a motorway, an autoweg, another road outside the built-up area and a road inside it.
Then read the sign, zone, time and markings. One visual feature alone does not always set the limit.
Pay special attention to the difference between an 80 road without green and a 100 road that often has green between double centre lines.
A Zone 30 still has separate pavements. An erf is shared space and pedestrians may use its full width.

Sign first, road structure second. Use both to select the correct rule.

RVV articles 20, 21 and 42 to 46

Dutch motorway with separated carriageways and two lanes in each direction — **Motorway, autosnelweg (G1)**Sign G1 starts a motorway. Turning around and reversing are prohibited. Only a motor vehicle that may and can travel at least 60 km/h may use it.

Dutch express road with double white centre lines and a green strip between them — **Express road, autoweg (G3), and 100 marking**Sign G3 makes it an autoweg. Green between double white centre lines helps identify a 100 road, but signs remain decisive. The vehicle must be allowed and able to travel at least 50 km/h.

Empty Dutch 80 road with double white centre lines and no green — **80 km/h outside the built-up area**Outside the built-up area, double white centre lines without green often indicate 80 km/h. Do not cross them when solid. A valid sign always takes precedence.

Narrow Dutch rural road without a centre line and with edge markings — **60 km/h outside the built-up area**Outside the built-up area, no centre line often belongs to a 60 road. Check the zone sign because an unmarked road can exceptionally have another limit.

Dutch built-up road with pavements, cycle paths and street lighting — **Built-up area, normally 50 km/h**Sign H1 marks the start of the built-up area. Without another sign, a passenger car normally has a 50 km/h limit. A lower or different valid sign takes precedence.

Dutch residential street with separate pavements and a broad speed table — **Zone 30**The zone starts at a 30 zone sign and ends at the end-of-zone sign. Pavements remain separate from the street, unlike an erf.

Dutch erf with shared paving, pedestrians and a car in a marked parking bay — **Erf (G5), maximum 15 km/h**In an erf, pedestrians may use the full width. Drivers travel at no more than 15 km/h. A motor vehicle may park only in a designated parking place.

9. Maximum speeds at a glance

Read the sign and time first. Use the general limit only when no lower or different valid limit applies.

For a passenger car without another sign: 50 km/h in a built-up area, 80 km/h outside it and 100 km/h on a motor road.
On a motorway, signs set the limit. From 06:00 to 19:00 almost all sections show 100 km/h; some show 80 or 130. From 19:00 to 06:00 a sign may show 100, 120 or 130.
A trailer with a permitted maximum mass up to and including 3,500 kg has a maximum of 90 km/h. A heavier trailer has a maximum of 80 km/h.
A goods vehicle, ordinary bus or heavy motorhome has a maximum of 80 km/h. A registered T100 bus may travel at up to 100 km/h.
A moped travels at up to 30 km/h on a cycle/moped path inside a built-up area, 40 outside it and 45 on the carriageway. A light moped has a maximum of 25 km/h.

The lowest valid maximum decides. Reduce speed further for sight, grip, traffic and clear stopping distance.

RVV articles 19 to 22a

A matrix signal showing 80, an A1 sign showing 100 and motorway sign G1, with 80 marked as the lowest valid maximum — Read every valid speed indication together. In this example, 80 km/h applies because the current matrix signal is lower than the A1 sign. G1 identifies a motorway but does not independently set one fixed speed.

What to remember before the exam

If you can explain these rules without help, you understand the core of this topic.

Keep right and use the road section intended for your vehicle.
Follow signs and adapt speed to real conditions.
Normally overtake left and check before every sideways movement.
Do not cross a solid line on your side.
First determine why a stationary car has stopped.
Recognise the road type, but always let the valid sign and time decide.
Always read the motorway sign and applicable time.
A light trailer has a 90 km/h maximum and a heavy trailer 80 km/h.

Check yourself

Think first. Then open the answer.

1May you keep driving at 50 km/h in dense fog inside a built-up area?

Only if it is safe. The limit is a maximum. Slow down so you can stop within the clear visible distance.

2May you cross a solid centre line on your side to overtake?

No. You may not cross a solid line that is on your side.

3You drive to the right of block markings. May you pass a driver on the left of those markings on the right?

Yes. Driving to the right of block markings is a legal exception to the normal rule of overtaking on the left.

4You stop briefly so a passenger can leave immediately. Is that parking?

No. That is stopping for the immediate departure of a passenger.

5You see double white centre lines without green, but a valid sign shows 60. Which limit applies?

60 km/h. The valid sign takes precedence over the recognition marking.

6A motorway sign shows 100 during the day. May you drive 130 because that is the general motorway limit?

No. The valid sign and indicated time set the maximum for that section.

Official sources

This summary uses the official CBR topics, RVV 1990, the Dutch Road Traffic Act and the Vehicle Regulations.

CBR: theory exam topics Overheid.nl: RVV 1990 Overheid.nl: Dutch Road Traffic Act Overheid.nl: Vehicle Regulations Overheid.nl: Driving Licence Regulations

Up to date

Try this in the free trial exam

You have read the rules. Now see if you recognise them in questions like the ones on the exam. The trial exam is free and needs no account.

Start the free trial exam

Choose the next topic

Return to the overview and continue. The nine lessons help you review the theory.

Back to the overview

Using the road